Joint plate for railway rails



Jan. 26 1926.

G. E. DOAN JOINT PLATE FOR RAILWAY RAILS Filed June 15, 1922 Patented Jan. 26, 1926.

GILBERT E. DOAN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

JOINT PLATE FOR RAILWAY BALI-ii Application filed June 15, 1922. Serial No. 568,516.

To (:ZZ hfiOfTt it may concern:

Be it known that I, GILBERT E. DoAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga, State of Ohio. have invented a certain new and useful improvement in Joint Plates for Railway Balls, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to joint plates for railway rails and has as its chief ob]ect the construction of plates which will have the maximum areas of surfaces in fishing contact with the rail when drawn into assembled position with the rail by the ordinary track bolts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a joint plate for railway rails in which the area of the contact surfaces which engage with the rail head and rail base varies inversely with the distance of the said si'zrfaces from the bolt holes in the plate.

Another object is to provide a new and improved method of obtaining maximum areas of fishing contact between joint plates and railway rails.

In the drawings attached to and forming a part of this specification:

l is a cross sectional View through a rail and joint plates constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagrai'mnatic representation of the parts shown in Fig. 1, with the various areas and distances indicated thereon.

Fig. 3 is a cross section of a rail with the joint plates shown in tilted position.

On railway rails of the so-called grooved type, such as is illustrated herein, joint plates of dilierent widths are required, the plates being bolted to the rails by track bolts which pass through the web of the rail and the plates. The plates are brought into closefitting engagement with the rail base and head by tightening the nuts on the track bolts or by a combination of driving the plates into position with a sledge and tightening the nuts. Either method frequently results in a tilting of the plates in the manner shown (greatly exaggerated) in Fig. 3, with consequent decrease of areas of fishing contact of the plate with the rail, the underlying cause of the tilting being, I believe, lack of proper distribution of the forces involved. It has not been practicable to place the bolt holes midway between the contact surfaces of both plates because of the difference in width of the plates and accordingly the holes are located above the horizontal medial line of the narrow plates and below the horizontal medial line of the wide plates. When force is applied to the plates by the bolts, it distributes itself unequally to the two contact surfaces because they are unequally distant from the center line of the bolt force, the distribution being in approximately a ratio inverse to the distance of the holes from each contact surface. hen the areas of the contact surfaces are substantially equal the result is a tiltingof the plates with respect to the axis of the web of the rail in the manner shown, and a substantially line contact of the plates with the rails, thus preventing the plates from affording the calculated support to therrail.

l have discovered that the present disadvantages can be obviated by a proper balancing of the forces set up in'assembling joint plates and rails, and that such balancing may be effected by providing a suitable relation between the areas of the contact surfaces of the plates-and the distances of the, bolt holes or the point of aplication of bolt forces therefrom.

By my invention, I have provided plates whiclrtend automatically to assume and retain a position with respect to the rail, although drawn into assembled position therewith by bolts located outside of the medial line of the plates, which results in establishing larger areas of fishing contact with the rail than can he obtained with ordinary plates. This result may be attained by pro viding plates having edge contact surfaces the areas of which vary inversely with the distance of the bolt holes therefrom.

In Fig. 1 numeral 1 indicates a railway rail of the grooved type having the plates 2 and 3 secured thereto, as by bolts 4, and nuts 5. Plate 2 which its under the ball 6 of the rail head is somewhat wider than plate 3, which fits under the lip 7 on the opposite side of the rail. Plate 2, is provided with a contact surface 8, to engage with the ball of the rail and, at the opposite edge, with con tact surface 9 to engage with the base of the rail. Similarly plate 3 is provided with corresponding contact surfaces 10 and 11 for contact with the lip 7, and with the base of the rail.

In Fig. 2 the areas of contact surfaces 8 and 9 of plate 2 are represented by B and D respectively while the distances of these surfaces from the centers of the bolts or the point of application of bolt forces are represented respectively by A and C. S1m1- larly on plate 3 F and H indicate the areas of contact surfaces 10 and 11 and E and G represent respectively the distances of areas F and H from the centers of the bolt force. These distances, A, C, G and E conform to present standard practice while areas, B, D, F and H have been selected to produce the desired results.

The preferred ratio of areas of contact surfaces and distances from the surfaces to the bolt forces may be expressed by the following formula Bis toDasCis to A, and FistoHasGistoE.

In other words, in any joint plate the product of the area of fishing contact surface and the distance of the surface from the bolt hole should approximate the product of the area of the other contact surface and the distance of the surface from the bolt hole or bolt forces.

lVhen bolt forces are applied to plates constructed with these areas and dimensions the force distribution is such as to cause the plate to assume and retain a position which will establish maximum areas of contact with the rail.

It will be obvious that my invention is not limited to the particular type of rail or joint plates shown, but that it may be applied to rails and plates of various sizes and shapes.

It will be noted that the edge portions of the plates and the fishing surfaces thereon are only slightly wider than the thickness of the plates, and that the plates are preferably not made any thicker than service requirements demand.

Although I have described one embodiment of my invention in detail I do not wish to be limited to the particular details set forth, since various modifications thereof may occur to those skilled in the art, which will lie within the spirit and scope of my invention. The scope of my invention is defined by what is claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A joint plate for railway rails having fishing contact surfaces of different areas, an aperture through the said plate outside of the longitudinal medial line of the plate, the width of the surfaces being only slightly wider than the thickness of the plate and the areas of the fishing contact surfaces varying inversely with the distance thereof from the said aperture.

2. In combination with a railway rail having a web portion, and head and base por tions projecting laterally on either side of the said web portion, a joint plate having fishing engagement with the projecting head and base portions of the rail and being disposed substantially completely within the vertical projection of the rail head portion, the said plate comprising a web portion spaced apart from the rail web, and upper and lower, longitudinal, projecting edge portions having fishing surfaces of different widths, the said edge portions being disposed approximately symmetrically about a central plane parallel to the sides of the web portion, the said plate having bolt holes disposed between the edge portions and located at distances from the fishing surfaces which vary inversely as the area of the said surfaces.

In testimony whereof, I, hereunto affix my signature.

GILBERT E. DOAN. 

